North Melbourne have scraped home by 4 points in a valiant win against a red-hot Melbourne Demons outfit at Blundstone Arena in an absolute thriller.
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The Kangaroos picked up just their fifth win of the season and maintained their impressive record against the Demons, extending their streak to 17 wins straight wins.
In a week where everyone was pointing the finger at the Kangaroos for not playing to win, the Kangaroos produced one of their best performances of the season, holding off the Demons in game of many momentum swings.
The windy conditions had a significant impact on the match, with the side kicking with the wind constantly having the upper hand.
North Melbourne burst out of the blocks in the opening term to lead by 16 points at the first break before the Demons utilised the wind to give themselves a handy 13 point lead at the main break.
Jeff Garlett caused many headaches for his opposition, kicking two early goals in the first quarter before kicking his third later in the match.
The Kangaroos led by 6 points at the final break and it looked as though the Demons would overrun them given they were kicking with the wind in the final term.
But the Kangaroos dug extremely deep with goals from Higgins and Simpkin doing enough to set up a grandstand finish in which the Kangaroos were able to prevail.
Melbourne had two big chances late in the match to take the lead. A shot taken by Michael Hibberd with only minutes to go going wide, which ultimately led to the Kangaroos being able to ice the game.
After a week where Majak Daw’s spray was shown all around the country, the North Melbourne ruckman ultimately had the last laugh taking a big mark in the dying stages to secure the points for his side.
The loss perhaps having significant repercussions on the Demons who could have temporarily jumped inside the top four with a win. Melbourne will again travel next week where they will play their most important game of the season when they meet the Giants.
Ben Brown continued his impressive form kicking four goals and providing multiple assists in what was one of his best matches yet.
The Kangaroos will gain lots of confidence from this win with many of their young stars rising to the occasion.
3 – B.Brown
2. C. Oliver
1. J. Simpkin
North Melbourne Kangaroos 11.10 76
Melbourne Demons 10.12 72
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